Do you ever feel you’re seen or treated differently because you’re older or because you’re younger? Do people sometimes call you “sweetie” or “honey”? Have you had difficulty getting a job because of your age? Are you considered unproductive or coddled because of the way you look? Do you buy birthday cards for older people that are actually insulting, not funny?
Ageism Awareness Day is Wednesday, Oct. 9. Ashton Applewhite will be speaking at the 19th Century Club in Oak Park on Ageism Awareness Day. It’s free to the public.
Applewhite is an author and anti-ageism activist. The Decade of Healthy Aging, a collaboration between the United Nations and World Health Organization, named her one of the Healthy Aging 50 — a group of leaders “transforming the world to be a better place in which to grow older.”
She is the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and a leading spokesperson for the emerging movement to raise awareness about, and dismantle, ageism (www.thischairrocks.com). Applewhite is also co-founder of the Old School Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse, which offers free anti-ageism educational resources (www.oldschool.info).
Come out to the 19th Century Club in Oak Park on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Help celebrate Ageism Awareness Day with one of the world’s most respected and energizing speakers about ageism. Take advantage of this free opportunity right here in our Oak Park community!
And here’s some good anti-ageism news in Illinois:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately one-quarter of Illinois’ population will be 60 or older by 2030, raising significant challenges and opportunities in both the public and private sectors.
Two weeks ago, Governor JB Pritzker signed Executive Order 2024-02 to begin a cross-sector planning process to create a clear framework, over the next decade, for meeting the needs of older people, people with disabilities, and caregivers.
This is a significant and far-reaching development for all the citizens of Illinois because all of us, from the moment we are born, are aging.
The executive order creates the new strategic position of Chief Planning Officer within the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA). The chief planning officer will lead the development and implementation of a multi-year Multi-Sector Plan for Aging (MPA). The MPA will serve as a 10-year blueprint to support healthy aging in Illinois communities and set clear, measurable objectives for evaluating public and private sector progress toward this goal. The chief planning officer will deliver the MPA to the Governor and General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2025, and an additional status report by Dec. 31, 2026.
The chief planning officer will convene an MPA Task Force, consisting of more than a dozen government agencies, to collaborate on the shared goals of enhancing and integrating services available to older adults in Illinois.
The executive order also mandates that the state-led MPA planning process bring together diverse stakeholders as members of the MPA Community Advisory Council, co-chaired by IDoA’s chief planning officer.
Kudos to Gov. Pritzker and all the dedicated organizations and individuals who worked for years to get this executive order created and signed.
And let’s all celebrate Ageism Awareness Day with Ashton Applewhite on the evening of Oct. 9 at the 19th Century Club in Oak Park.